Sun. July 10    Miles today: 23:7       Total so far: 1,-49.8        Washington Section H

The rain began in earnest a little while after we went to bed last night.  I was so tired that I just conked out, but Bill got up in the middle of the night in the rain to tighten the guy lines of the tarp because it had started  sagging.  What a hero!

We packed up and headed out in the dark gray morning as the rain fell steadily, and soon passed several SOBO thru-hikers who were just starting to get up.  “Nice damp morning!” was their cheery greeting.  It seemed like the woods were full of PCT SOBOs.  Well, damp it was–actually WET–all the many bushes along the trail were soaking wet, so very quickly my pants were, too.  Brrrr!  I was cold, and with a 45 degree temperature, that was not good.  I belatedly put on my rain pants before we stopped and scarffed down our cold granola breakfast.  Even though I ate as fast as I could, by the time I finished the last bit, I was starting to shiver. Time to hike on and get warm!

A bit later, we reached a landmark–the “Big Lava Flow.”  Interesting!  All the lava flows we’ve seen so far are barren except for a few “bonsai-ed” tres.  This one was very mossy, ferny, and huckleberried.  I guess we really are in Washington!  Big Lava Flow was a lot of fun to walk through, even in the rain, and eventually we arrived at Crest Campground, which had the most AMAZING picnic tables I have ever laid eyes on.  They were entirely made of split LOGS and I think I can say that they are the STRONGEST tables I’ve ever seen! 

As the rain continued, the PCT got more and more muddy and puddly–we had to be careful not to slip and fall.  All morning we were meeting SOBOs and even some “regular” backpackers.  We were determined to eat lunch at Blue Lake, but the climb up and over Berry Mountain took a lot longer than we expected.  At the top were supposed to be “great views”.  Yeah, right!  Our view was “trees in cloud”–no Mt. Adams or Mt. Rainier.  Just clouds.  We finally reached Blue Lake, very hungry and very ready for our late hot lunch.  Even though we were right by the lake, clouds and rain made visibility so poor that sometimes we couldn’t even see the other side! 

But we needed that midday break.  My shoulders and hips were really tired from a pack heavy with so much food.  Bill was also groaning about his heavy pack.  Problem: if I skimp on food, our packs are lighter and we go faster, but on a long haul like this one (6 days), soon poor Bill is slowing down and saying he’s so tired he can hardly lift his legs, and I am feeling hungry all the time, which is no fun.  But if I bring plenty of food (as I did for this part of the trail), Bill is much more lively, and I’m not so hungry, but we’re both miserable from the packweight.  I don’t know what to do about this, except to console myself with thinking, “Hang in there!  With every meal, the pack gets lighter!” 

Into the afternoon we went, on through still rainy but very pretty Indian Heaven Wilderness.  Besides all the lakes, what I liked best about it were all the open green meadows we walked through, after going through so much forest.  Of course there are lots of huckleberry bushes, and berry-picking trails are everywhere, but no ripe huckleberries yet.  In the afternoon we met two large groups of backpackers, and one group AMAZED me–it contained six grownups, two kids, and two BABIES–one in a jogging stroller covered with plastic, and one tiny baby in a “front pack” draped with plastic.  They were moving steadily along the trail in the continuing RAIN.  Wow, those folks were brave.  We didn’t take our kids on a backpack trip till they were three years old and could at least carry their own tiny pack (with snacks and a stuffed animal!).

Finally it was 5:30 and time for our tortilla and cheese supper.  While we were eating, suddenly the rain stopped, then the sun shone for about 30 seconds.  We were cheering and yelling, “More sun, Lord, more, more!”  However, it turned out God’s answer was “Hang on, be patient”, because the clouds came right back again, and so did the rain, though it was much lighter.

As we pushed on after supper, we met a SOBO who said that Search & Rescue were out looking for a lost hiker, and that they were parked at a road up ahead.  But when we got to the road, we saw no sign of search staff vehicles.  We hoped and prayed that they had found the hiker they were looking for.  However, soon it was time for US to be searching for a campsite.  We didn’t figure it would be a problem–we were in Sawtooth Huckleberry FLAT.  According to the rules in the guidebook, to the EAST of the road, the berries are for for Indians ONLY, and west is for the rest of us. 

 Well, after looking around, we ended up camped on the Indian side in what we called a “car pow-wow circle.”  There was a huge rock campfire circle in the middle of a large flat area, with tire tracks that seemed to indicate sort of a “tailgate party ’round the campfire”.  It also seems that the Indians must enjoy dirtbiking/motocross–there were a lot of those tracks, too. 

But best of all was that somebody had spread a lot of nice clean hay over in one corner.  The rain had stopped, and clouds were starting to clear in the east.  We set up our tarp and groundcloth on the hay.  Oh boy, did it feel good–soft and comfortable!  We had a great night’s sleep!